Battlefields and borderline behaviours: using systemic perspectives to understand entrenched parental opposition and mental process in family court procedures 

26th February

A proportion of parents referred either by solicitors for therapeutic help, or referred by the court with a request for an expert witness assessment, suffer from undiagnosed mental health problems which confuse and compound the normal difficulties experienced in work of this kind.  In this workshop I will attempt some distinctions based on my own court work experience and consider the implications and hazards for professionals involved in the work. 

The value of using a systemic perspective, combined with the transparency that court work facilitates, can augment a 'non blaming' approach.  However, the difficulties created by making recommendations and the centrality of the role of the expert to the stability of the court and therapeutic system leave many unanswered issues about how the family will proceed once the assessment period is complete.

Gill Gorell Barnes is a founder member of the Institute of Family Therapy.  She is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Tavistock Clinic, London and Consultant, Child and Family Court Proceedings.

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